Air Traffic Control Association will host a Partners Into the Future symposium Aug. 27 at the Holiday Inn at New York Kennedy Airport. For more information, call 703-522-5717.
Virgin Atlantic Chairman Richard Branson will speak at the Wings Club's monthly luncheon Sept. 11 at 12:15 p.m. at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City.
AirTran Airways will start new service to five markets in November and December and discontinue service in three markets that will soon have new competition by two low-fare operators, Southwest and Delta Express. AirTran is ending its service from Orlando to Nashville Oct. 31, and to Hartford and Providence Dec. 2. It will reveal the new markets this month. "AirTran's route strategy is to provide nonstop, low-frequency service to Orlando from markets that typically lack this type of convenient service," said Robert Swenson, president and chief executive.
American Trans Air parent company Amtran named Stanley Pace, recently appointed president and chief executive, and Dalen Thomas, new senior VP- marketing and strategic planning, to its board.
New Frontiers, a division of French travel company Nouvelles Fronti`8F`72es, h +as published an insider's guide to European travel that offers tips on how to save money, how to get around and what to see. The pamphlet explains, for example, that museums in England that charge admission are free after 4:30 p.m., and that lunching in Paris cafes costs less when patrons stand at the counter instead of sitting at a table.
As Vice President Al Gore continues to collect big names to sit on his Airline Safety and Security Commission (DAILY, Aug. 16), a "baseline working group" of experts is being formed that will, as an Air Line Pilots Association representative put it, actually do the work. Northwest pilot Steve Luckey, who also chairs ALPA's Flight Security Committee, will join the working group at the request of the White House.
Delta is beginning to enroll Atlanta and Cincinnati SkyMiles members in Escape Plan '97, its weekend getaway travel program. Each Sunday at 1 a.m., Delta chooses six cities for the plan and cuts fares to them by as much as 60%. Members can check on the cities by calling a toll-free number. Escape Plan '97 members can book tickets beginning Oct. 13 for travel starting Oct. 18.
- In Federal Register dated Aug. 9...Proposed an airworthiness directive on certain Beech 1000A and Hawker 1000 aircraft to require modifications of the thrust reversers...Pro-posed an AD on certain British Aerospace 146 and Avro 146-RJ aircraft to require inspection of terminal Block D...Proposed to revise the rain and hail ingestion standards of jet engines.
Granted orally to USAir a two-year exemption for scheduled combination service between Baltimore, Charlotte, Miami, and Tampa, on the one hand, and Aruba on the other.
U.S. and Pakistan initialed a new, liberalized aviation agreement Friday. Replacing a 50-year-old pact, the bilateral permits U.S. carriers to serve all points in Pakistan and operate third-country code-share service. Formerly limited to New York, Pakistan's airlines will be allowed to serve five additional U.S. cities with direct combination flights and two more through code-share service. DOT said the pact opens up all-cargo service for carriers from both countries.
Manchester Airport plc, which operates Manchester Airport, is pressing DOT "promptly [to] approve the proposed code-share arrangement between Continental and Business Air." The two carriers have proposed operating code-share service beginning Sept. 16 between Newark, on the one hand, and Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow, on the other. Under the arrangement, Business Air will hold out Continental's designator code on its Saab 340 flights on the U.K. routes (DAILY, Aug. 7).
The Career Pilots Association (CPA), formed to represent professional and commercial pilots and flight crews, promises to fight for safety issues, such as eliminating pilot-paid training and low-entry-level pay scales. The organization will lobby Congress on safety issues and provide other services to its members, such as helping pilots obtain insurance, seeking better working conditions, providing a liaison between pilot groups and offering a free resume advisory service.
U.S. and Japan ended talks Friday in Tokyo without an agreement or dates for future negotiations. The U.S. said it was "disturbed at the failure of this round because it had brought to the table an affirmative agenda as well as the flexibility to meet concerns that Japan had raised during previous rounds. Instead of responding with flexibility, Japan rebuffed U.S. efforts by making new demands and generally raising the ante for a successful outcome." The two sides once again broke down over the issue of Japan's continuing refusal to allow U.S.
Exploring ways to maximize value for shareholders, WorldCorp is considering a spinoff of its interest in World Airways or a disposition to a third party, according to the company's recent quarterly report to the Securities and Exchange Commission. WorldCorp currently holds 59.3% of World Airways' outstanding common stock.
Aircraft Mishap Photography, Documenting the Evidence by John Panas. Explains and shows how to produce photographs most useful for an aviation accident investigation. Iowa State University Press; $34.95 paper. To order, call 1-800-862-6657.
Boeing 727 and 737 Systemwide Aircraft Utilization Per Day First Quarter 1996 B727-200 American Continental Delta Number of Aircraft Operated 82 35 129 Total Fleet Operations Departures 238 110 645
Delta's Air Line Pilots Association will elect a pilot representative to sit on Delta's board of directors at a Master Executive Council meeting in Portland Sept. 15-21. The ALPA representative serves on the board in a non-voting role for a one-year term, beginning in October.
American President Donald Carty intends to make something happen in two- year-old contract talks with the Allied Pilots Association. American says he will sit at the negotiating table in Washington until an agreement is reached, and he has full authority to approve a binding agreement on behalf of the company. Gruntal Investment Research predicts pilot concessions and says American will order 767ERs or 777s from Boeing once a contract is signed.
Business travelers anticipate taking greater advantage of the Internet and new electronic reservations and distribution services, according to a recent Air Travel Card survey. In a poll of more than 200 corporate travel managers, 62% of respondents said they, or someone in their company, goes online to obtain business travel information, but only 17% said they use the technology to make travel reservations and 1% uses the Internet for most reservations. In two years, 72% of respondents expect to use the technology more often for reservations.
UPS has awarded Carlson Wagonlit its global travel management account. The company will have on-site locations in Atlanta, Toronto and Miami Lakes, Fla. Several agencies previously handled the account.
If current trends continue, airlines will hire a record number of pilots in 1996, including 8,300 new jobs flying large jets, according to airline career specialist AIR Inc. Airlines hired an average of 910 pilots a month through July, and 1,659 of the total went to the majors. The number of pilots on furlough decreased to 1,174, and American, Delta and Continental all announced total recalls. AIR Inc. thinks it is possible that every major except USAir will be hiring by the end of 1997.
Martinair Holland will reduce fares to Amsterdam from its eight U.S. gateways after Sept. 1 and offer a new fly/drive package with Hertz. The fares are $498 roundtrip from Newark, Miami, Orlando and Tampa, $548 from Denver and $598 from Los Angeles, Oakland and Seattle. The price is $1 more for a weekly car rental. Martinair handles both the air and car booking. The Dutch carrier also is offering a travel agent incentive - a $100 roundtrip bonus or $50 one way to those who book passengers in its new Star Class between Sept. 1 and Oct. 31.
EuroGatwick, British Airways' short-haul subsidiary, will launch service between London Gatwick and five new cities - Barcelona, Helsinki, Lisbon, Oporto and Glasgow - and boost frequencies on several existing routes by increasing its fleet of 737s to 33 from 27. BA said the flights will complement its own growing long-haul operations at Gatwick. BA's switch from Heathrow to Gatwick in March of its flights to Latin America will prompt two new daily flights to Barcelona and one to Lisbon.
Increased media scrutiny of the airline industry may be the reason for several recent reports on Food and Drug Administration food safety warnings to carriers. Although the coverage gives the impression that airline food handling and sanitary conditions are a growing health problem, an FDA spokesman said the warnings are routine, none of the reported problems came close to harming a passenger's health, and FDA is not cracking down on the industry.
